Javier Mendez knows he’s got a tough task ahead, but he also knows that his team will have the upper hand. The Team Eagle and American Kickboxing Academy coach is well aware his pupil Islam Makhachev has a tough challenger for his first defense of his UFC lightweight title. Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) takes on Alexander Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC), who’s champion at featherweight and is going up a division in efforts to become a two-division titleholder, in the main event of UFC 284 on Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Mendez respects the work that Volkanovski has put in at featherweight, but believes the jump to 155 pounds will be too much for the Australian.
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